The invention relates generally to agricultural equipment, such as harvesters, and more specifically, to a system for spreading agricultural material from a harvester.
A harvester may be used to harvest agricultural crops, such as barley, beans, corn, cotton, flax, oats, rye, soybeans, wheat, or other plant crops. Moreover, a combine (e.g., combine harvester) is a specific type of harvester generally used to harvest grains (e.g., barley, corn, flax, oats, rye, soybeans, wheat, etc.). Accordingly, a combine may be used to separate a plant into different agricultural materials, such as grain, chaff, and straw. The combine begins the harvesting process by cutting the plant stalk, usually using a cutting device (i.e., a header). The combine then moves the plant from the cutting device into the combine with a feeder system. Inside the combine, the plant undergoes processes that separate it into agricultural materials. Some of these agricultural materials (e.g., straw, chaff) may be discharged from the combine onto the recently harvested field. The combine may spread the agricultural material throughout the field for decomposition, and/or may create narrow rows of agricultural material (i.e., create a windrow) for collection by another machine (e.g., a baler). Unfortunately, current combines may not effectively spread and/or windrow agricultural materials.